Barbourville begins search for superintendent

The search begins for the next superintendent of Barbourville City Schools.

At the January meeting, the School Board voted to approve a contract with Kentucky School Board Association to aid in the superintendent search. Don Martin, a representative of KSBA and a retired superintendent, attended the meeting to discuss what the contract entails.

The benefit of using KSBA is to ensure a non-biased hiring process. According to ksba.org, KSBA, as an impartial third party, helps to protect the integrity and credibility of the search process.

“We’re basically here to guide the search committee through the reviewing process,” said Martin.

“There are several steps in the search process, KSBA has refined this process. We have done over 100 searches since we started.”

According to Martin, KSBA will accept all applications for the position, ensure the applicants meet the required demands, and narrow the selection to a small number of candidates for the search committee to review. The search committee will consist of six individuals; two teachers, one school board member, one principal, one parent and one classified employee.

The help of KSBA comes with a hefty price, however. For their services, KSBA charges $8,000, to be divided between two fiscal years.

Although the contract was approved, not all of the board members were content with the decision.

“Of course I’m against spending $8,000,” said board Chairman Shirley Treadway. “In the previous superintend searches that I’ve gone through, we’ve advanced somebody from within the organization, and you don’t have to spend $8,000 to do that.”

“I will say that if we were to go about this on our own and something were to go wrong, the cost would be much more than $8,000 to fix the problem,” added School Board Attorney Ashley Valentine.

The motion to approve the contract passed three to two. In an effort to assist with the cost of KSBA’s services, Board Member Kenneth Cobb made a motion for the school board members to donate their stipends back to the school. Though the motion was not seconded, the thought behind it was genuine and heartfelt.